Carton with tear strip closure



April 6, 1955 I P. c. COLLURA 3,176,904

CARTON WITH TEAR STRIP CLOSURE Filed Oct. 22. 1963 J59 [Kl/672227!.Pezer C. (02224 r'a United States Patent 3,176,9M Patented Apr. 6, l955 The present invention relates to foldable paperboard cartons andmore particularly to cartons designed for retention of wet or moist foodproducts which are to be frozen after being packaged.

Among the important objects of the invention are to provide an efiicientand economical form of carton which may readily be filled with thedesired quantity of food or other product, which has efiective closureand closure sealing means to enable the filled carton to be securelyclosed, and which may easily be opened to give access to the contents.

.Another object of the invention is to provide a carton particularlydesigned for the packaging of wet or moist food to be frozen, suchcarton having oppositely hinged top closure panels carried by two of thecarton walls, and such Walls carrying at their ends inwardly foldableflaps having closure sections connected to the first mentioned walls byweb corner connections.

Additional and more specific objects and advantages of the inventionwill become apparent as the description proceeds.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the carton showing it in closed andsealed condition;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale showing the cartonafter it has been opened for removal of contents; and

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the carton blank.

The carton of the present invention is intended particularly for use inconnection with carton filling machines adapted to deposit a measuredquantity of wet foods, such as spinach, string beans and other types orrelatively bulky products, that may be loaded into a carton moreefficiently if it has relatively smooth interior wall surfaces. Forexample, in the employment of cartons having in turned web corner foldsexposed inside the carton, the inserted material frequently tends tocatch on the interior parts and this prevents the material from enteringeffectively into and completely filling the available space with in thecarton. Thus, by forming the carton with web corner connections betweenthe inwardly foldable closure panels, the carton retains the advantagesof this type of construction to minimize leakage and, at the sane time,the carton has the advantage accruing to the smooth interior of the mainbody of the carton which allows the conn ts to find their way completelyinto the carton.

Referring to FIGURE 3, the carton is conveniently f rmed from aone-piece blank indicated as a whole at 5, the blank being cut andscored to provide a rectangular bottom panel 6, side wall panels 7 and8, and top closure panels 9 and 1t) bingedly connected along fold lines11, 12, 13 and 14. While the bottom panel could be square, it ispreferably formed somewhat elongated in the direction transversely tothe length of the blank.

End wall panels 16, 16 are hinged at the ends of the bottom panel alongfold lines 17, 17 extending lengthwise of the blank.

On the outer ends of the walls 8 and 1d at each side of the blank thereare formed unitary extended portions each comprising an end wall formingflap l8 and a corner flap indicated as a whole at 19, hinged to the flap18 along fold line 14:: which is an extension of fold line 14. The parts13 and 19 are also hinged along the score line 1'7 to the ends of theside Wall and closure panels 8 and 10. Each corner flap 19 is divided byan angular fold line 20 into first and second gusset sections 21 and 22,respectively.

The opposite end of the blank is somewhat similarly constructed. On theouter ends of the walls 7 and 9 at each side of the blank there areformed unitary extended portions each comprising an end wall formingflap 24 and a corner flap indicated as a whole at 25, hinged to the flap24 along fold line 13a which is an extension of fold line 13. The parts24 and 25 are also hinged along the score line 17 to the ends of theside wall and closure panels 7 and 9. Each corner flap 25 is divided byan angular fold line 26 into first and second gusset sections 27 and 28,respectively.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the gusset sections 21 and 27 extend outwardlysuificiently to enable them to overlap when the carton is set up. Theadjacent edges of the end wall forming flaps l8 and 2.4 are preferablymade to conform to each other and, in the present instance, they are cutso as to meet approximately along an inclined line located centrally ofthe end wall, such flaps being disposed outside of the upfolded end wallpanel 16.

in the present instance the cover panel 19 is formed with a widthone-half that of the width of the bottom panel and the cover panel 9 ismade wide enough to overlap the free edge of panel lit. Panel 9 is alsoprovided with an extended flap 38' serving as a securing means wherebythe panels 9 and lit may be secured together. The flap 30 is designed tobe severed from the main body of the panel 9 by forming a weakened line31 between such panel main body and the flap 3% This may conveniently beaccomplished by a series of short slits interrupted by small nicksbetween them. When the carton is sealed closed by securing the flap 3%on the outer surface of the closure panel 19, theclosure panels mayreadily be released from each other by disrupting the paperboard alongthe weakened line by suitable means, such as a knife or other sharp orpointed instrument. It is to be understood that only the flap 30 will besecured to cover panel 16 and that the main body of the panel 9 is leftunsecured to panel 19.

Means are preferably provided for securing the cover flaps at theiroverlapping portions in fixed relation to the end walls. For thi purposefoldable tabs 32, 32 are formed on the opposite ends of the closurepanel 9. As illustrated in FIGURE 3, each tab 32 is cut partly from thegusset section 28 and the center line of each tab is approximately onthe center line of the composite closure formed by panels 9 and Ill).The downfolded tabs are suitably secured to the outside surfaces offlaps l8 and 24 go as to cover the joint made by the meeting edges ofthese aps.

The tabs 32 are preferably made severable from the edges of panel 9 byforming a suitable weakened line 33 along the hinge line of each tab.Thus, by severing both the tabs and the fiap 3b the sealed carton may beopened for access to its contents by merely lifting panels i and it toswing them to vertical position. This also moves the joined gussetsections 2.1 and 27 at each end of the carton to vertical position,allowing ready access to the contents.

The overlapping edges of the gusset sections 21 and 27, the severableflap 3i! and the severable tabs 32, 32 may be secured by suitableadhesive. Likewise, the end Wall forming flaps i3 and 24 may beadhesively secured to the end wall panels to. As an alternative, thesurfaces of the carton may be treated with well known compositions ofthermoplastic coating material and the parts to be adhered may besubjected to heat and pressure, causing such parts to be heat sealed.

if desired, gusset or web corner connections may be employed to connectthe end wall panels 16 and their adjoining flaps.

a 7 C9 While the present description sets forth a preferred embodimentof the invention, various changes may be made in the construction asdisclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it istherefore de- (a) a rectangular bottom wall having opposedpairs ofsingle-ply side walls and double-ply end Walls hinged to opposed pairsof side edges thereof and upstanding therefrom to form a box-likestructure open at the top;

(b) said end walls each including an inner panel and a pair of outer endWall flaps hinged to corresponding end edges of respective side Wallsand disposed to overlie said inner panel;

(c) means for closing the top of said structure includ- (i) a pair ofopposed outer and inner top closure panels, having outboard edges hingedto corresponding upper edges of respective side walls and having inboardedges disposed to overlap medially of the tray top to form atop wall;

(ii) generally rectangular corner 'flaps at each corner of the tray eachbeing divided by a diagonal fold line into a pair generally triangularfirst andsecond gussets hinged to an upper edge of a related end closureflap and an end edge of a related top closure flap, respectively;

(iii) the gussets of each corner flap being folded one against the otherwith the pairs of first gussets at each end of the tray being joined toeach other to form a composite, triangular under- 4 lying closure memberdisposed below related pairs of second gussets and adjacent end portionsof said top closure flaps; and

(ii) means for detachably securing said top closing means in closedposition, including:

' (i) an elongated securing flap rernovably joined to the inboard edgeof said outer top closure flap along a weakened line of tear andoverlying and adhesively secured to a marginal inboard edge portion ofsaid inner top closure lap; and

(ii) a pair of securing tabs detachably joined to opposite end edges ofsaid outer top closure flap adjacent said securing flap along weakenedlines of tear and overlying and adhesively se cured to upper medialportions of respective end Walls.

References Cited by the Examiner UN ITED STATES PATENTS 2,680,558 6/54Mai 229-51 7 2,736,484 2/56 vVines -Q 229-37 X 2,799,442 7/57 Van Rosen229-37 2,875,943 3/59 Cooper 229-39 3,016,181 1/62 Desmond 229-293,019,959 2/62 Skowronski .r. 229-51 X 3,028,950 4/62 Content 206-413,029,997 4/62 Kaufield 229-37 3,032,251 5/62 Jarund. 3,050,229 a 8/62Neil. 3,125,280 3/64 Henry 229-51 3,142,432 7/64 Davis 229-38 FOREIGNPATENTS 1,267,978 a 6/61 France.

421,485 12/34 Great Britain.

FRANKLIN 'r. GARRETT, Primary Examiner.

